We all probably do things at different times that are unsafe practices in the garage. I would like to start this thread by listing a few safe practices and let others add to it.

1- Wear safety glasses. This is the most stressed and most overlooked. One small wire off of a wire wheel or one piece of rust from laying underneath the car or flipped off of a grinder can screw up the whole day.

2- Keep a mirror handy because you overlooked #1. If you have to go from the garage to the house you will blink many times before you find the bathroom mirror. I have a rearview mirror mounted to the wall just for this purpose.

3- Keep some hand cleaner in the garage just for the fact you may have to stick your finger in your eye. See 1 & 2.

4- Keep a fire extiguisher in the garage. They are cheap, you can pick them up at WallyWorld and for a few bucks it can save you many thousands.

5- Store chemicals away from any flame. Vapors can ignite. If they do you had better practice #4.

6- Make sure what chemicals are stored together. Different vapors can react with surprising results resulting in an explosion / fire.

7- Keep some band-aids in the toolbox along with some type of antibiotic (Neosporin, Bactine, etc) Better yet, small cheap medicine cabinets are abundent at the local hardware store. I haven't done this yet but is on a list of to-do's.

8- If working around fuel lines / gas tank, never have a trouble light in the same location. Many a garage has burnt down by the bulb busting in the trouble light and gas fumes. Personally I am not a big advocate of incadescent trouble lights anyhow. Also if you use the 500w quartz halogen worklights never have them around where any water / spray can hit the glass lens. The cool spray with the hot lens can cause it to explode.

9- Take a few minutes to wipe your tools down and put them back where they belong. A clean garage is a safer area to work and it will also save one or two days of cleaning it up every so often. Most people find it a struggle to put it back but find it a joy to drag it out.

10- If you are at a buddies garage and he does not practice any of the above...if you hear the words Uh Oh....run like he!!

I know guys who will still wash parts in gasoline. Even out in the open this is not safe to do. That is what a parts washer is for. Use the cleaning solution and not gas to clean up your parts, sparky!

Good reminders Kev- I'd also add- "Don't think you are Superman- get some help!" Just finished my Dream Garage (I'll post pics when I finally get it organized!!) and my buddies helped unload the new 80 gallon compressor. All alone I thought- "I can take that pallet out from under it just by slowly spinning the compressor around until one leg is on the floor..." When the center of gravity took over and my back started to go my life flashed before my eyes and I saw the wife coming down to get me, only to discover I am flat under a new compressor- I caught my balance and all is well- but my stupidity will be checked every time I am in the garage from now on!!

Last week was laying underneath the delivery,grinding some welds,piece of grinding disc went over my safety glasses in to my eye,had to go to doctor,wear a face shield or get the wrap around safety googles,also ear muffs,and dust mask good to have around. Some thing else that might be a good idea a carbon monoxide detector.

Whew, glad it's not only me. But thank goodness I have been getting safer and safer around the garage. ALWAYS with the safety glasses no matter how mundane the task might be. With a power tool or grinder or even when I reach for the hammer. I am such a stickler on gloves and putting oily rags away in a safe spot as well. Keep on keepin' on my safe computer friends....

When I was young I would have called you stupid.
At some point in life though I grew attached to my fingers and figured out that while I have 2 eyes one is not a spare

How many times in the past did I paint in an unventilated shop? Weld by looking till the arc struck then closed my eyes, I just needed a tack. OR dam a cut, OH well germs can not live in grease I'll just stick some on

One added thing I do now is use those mechanics gloves, I love these things.

Even something as "stupid" as wearing an appropriate mask can save you years of aggravation. Just ask a guy that welds galvanized steel without one. His lungs are AFU, and he has about 30% of his lungs left.
I even wear one grinding. Amazing how much crap it keeps out of your nose. I didn't wear one Friday for 20 minutes, and I'm still blowing black crud from my nose.

eyewash stations can make you a happy boy in a time of need.
never lock yourself in.(seriously)my friend had a buddy sneak in and scare the shirt out of him , so he now locks the door, great till he gets hurt and no-one can get in.keep your loose clothes away from your spinning tools.
MOST OF ALL, NEVER trust your jack , I have axel stands, but what i like to use is 1 foot sections of 6x6 from a sawmill,stack them 2x2 and the car will never move.mike

Back in 1976, I lost a very good friend to shop stupidity. He was changing brakes on a mercury, with nothing more than a bumper jack. The jack slipped an the spinol came down on the inseam of his leg and he bleed to death in less than an hour!

Please remember that you can DIE if your not careful. ALWAYS use proper equipment. suport your vehicle with the proper jack stands for the weight of the vehicle you are working on.

Done the wire wheel on the grinder into the eyeball thing!! I always use safety glasses with it. But one day I pluged it in and hit the trigger just to make sure it worked (with out the glasses) and WHAM! Thought I rinsed it out. Next day it really started to bother me. Went to the doctor and he got it out but it had left a rust ring in my eye ball. So he a to drill out the rust with a small burr tip bit!!!!! Lesson learned!! Anytime you put power to a power tool put the glasses on!

I know where you are coming from Maverick. I was using a small die grinder and flipped a piece of metal into my eye. I tried to rinse it out but it didn't work. It happened to be on a Friday evening. The lid got so scratched I couldn't stand it so I went to the ER. They stated that there was nothing in there even though I could see a small spot. So they told me to see the eye specialist on Monday. By that time it had rusted and they had to do the same thing. Also the medicine that you have to put in there feels like a wad of vaseline in the eye. Glasses for me from now on!!!!

A very good friend of mine just lost a cousin to the jack of death. This guy thought he didn't need jack stands. Well, he didn't need them for 10 or 15 years....But, he got to a certain point that he should have thought about it.

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